Wednesday, June 14, 2017

BUTUAN CITY, June 14 (PIA) - The rains did not
dampen the spirits of the Butuanons who wanted to celebrate the 119th
Philippine Independence Day here.

Butuan City Mayor Ronnie Vicente C. Lagnada led the
Freedom Day celebration together with City Vice Mayor Jose "Joboy" S.
Aquino II and other local officials.

The celebration commenced at 7:00 a.m., Monday,
June 12, at the Guingona Park with a flag-raising ceremony, followed by the
laying of wreaths at the monument of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, and a 21-gun salute by
the Philippine Army soldiers.

Aquino, in his welcome remarks, recalled how the
Filipinos attained the freedom from foreign rules because of the sacrifices of
"our ancestors who fought for us and the country’s freedom."

Also, Lagnada stressed that real independence
"should start within ourselves." He also enjoined the Butuanons to be
united and do their share to sustain the freedom.

Meanwhile, interpretative dances depicting freedom,
love and dedication to the country were also performed by the Amparo National
High School, Taligaman National High School and Nongnong National High School.

Monday’s celebration of Independence day was
attended by hundreds of employees from the city government, different
government agencies and civil society organizations’ representatives, the
academe and students, among others.

The celebration ended with the release of balloons
to signify peace and prosperity for the entire country. (FEA/RCO/PIA Caraga)

According to Community Development Information
Officer (CDIO) Nancy Elizalde, the 3-day festivity will start at 7:30 a.m.
Wednesday with a parade to be followed by a formal opening program to be held
at the municipal gymnasium.

The cutting of ribbon for the agro-trade fair will
also be conducted to be led by Surigao del Sur Vice Governor Manuel Alameda,
San Miguel Mayor Alvaro Elizalde, Vice Mayor Salvador Soriano and sangguniang
bayan members.

Also, 12 lovely candidates will be competing for
the Miss Humayanon talent showdown and a fellowship night of San Miguelnon will
take place during the first night of the festivity.

On day-2, the indigenous peoples (IPs) of San
Miguel will celebrate the “Araw ng Lumad” with several lined-up activities involving
the IP communities in the town headed by Municipal Tribal Chieftain Datu Rico
Maca.

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, June 14 (PIA) - The
119th Philippine Independence Day was solemnly celebrated in the city
spearheaded by the city government here headed by mayor Alexander Pimentel in
collaboration with the provincial government of Surigao del Sur and Department
of Education (DepEd).

The celebration was participated by the employees
of the national government agencies (NGAs); troopers of 402nd Brigade and 36th
Infantry Battalion; personnel of the Philippine National Police; private
sector/non-government organizations; academe and students.

During the activity, Provincial Administrator Efren
Rivas Jr. representing Governor Vicente Pimentel emphasized the importance of
the celebration and encouraged everyone to be united for peace and development
in the entire nation.

"Today, the whole nation celebrates the
independence day, we have to be united and put in mind the courage and
patriotism of our forefathers that led to our freedom,” Rivas said.

"Let us remember the efforts and the bravery
of the people who have died for us. Let us treasure the independence we have
gained," he added.

Meanwhile, Tandag City Mayor Alexander Pimentel
also stressed that the country is fighting freedom not from foreign invaders
but against the fellow Filipinos.

“Right now, we are fighting for a new independence,
not from foreigners, but from our fellow Filipinos. We are fighting for an
independence against terrorists and insurgents for more than a decade
protracted war,” Pimentel said. (PIA-Surigao del Sur)

Balikatan 33 strengthens US-PH defense partnership

BUTUAN CITY, June 14 - After 12 training days in
the Philippines, thousands of service members from the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) and United States (U.S.) Military recently finished this
year’s rigorous Balikatan training exercise and now stand more prepared to
respond to terror threats and natural disasters in the region.

This another successful Balikatan training built a
long and productive history of joint military exercises that enhance
interoperability, strengthen partnerships, and improve disaster response and
counterterrorism capabilities.The
teamwork of the Philippines and U.S. armed forces ensures a more rapid response
to natural disasters and manmade crises, in saving lives and helping the
Filipinos.

“Our nations face an increasingly complex and
volatile security environment,” said Ambassador Sung Kim.“Now more than ever, our armed forces must
work together closely.Exercises like
Balikatan build upon the long and productive history between our two militaries
and ensure that we are always ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in defense of
our lives, our shared values, and international rules-based order,” he said.

During Balikatan, participants conducted training
exercises in diverse areas of expertise, including live fire advanced
marksmanship, small unit tactics, counter improvised explosive devices (IED),
maritime interdiction, and amphibious raids.They had also practiced ship to shore movement of military personnel and
equipment, air operations, and aid distribution to bolster disaster response
capabilities.

In the communities of Dulaq and Tapaz in Capiz, Ormoc
in Leyte, and Guiuan in Eastern Samar, the participants were involved in the
construction of new classrooms and community buildings and renovated existing
structures.

Apart from that, the U.S. supplied the communities
in Luzon and the Central Visayas region with over $400,000 of emergency
readiness equipment and aid.The U.S.
and Philippine military medical teams also taught the community members with
basic lifesaving skills, disease prevention, and proper physical and dental
hygiene– all critical during times of
crisis.

To help prepare for a natural disaster hitting the
region, U.S. troops also coordinated with the local municipal leadership to
identify locations capable of supporting relief operations and helped in
developing crisis response plans.

In this year’s Balikatan, the Philippines and the
United States continued to collaborate with regional partner nations to include
forces from Australia and Japan who participated in all major training events,
and the AFP invited military forces from the United Kingdom and Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries to be part of the
International Observers Program. (U.S. Embassy/PIA-Caraga)

Kalahi-CIDSS ups advocacy with launching of
compendium; coffee table book

By Marko Davey D. Reyes

BUTUAN CITY, June 14 - The Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) Caraga recently launched the advocacy materials
to strengthen the implementation of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan –
Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS)
program. The materials were unveiled/launched during the regional Monday
convocation on June 5, 2017 at the DSWD Caraga regional office here.

The materials launched were Bidlisiw (Ray of
Light), a coffee table book with photo stories and the 2nd volume of Kabilin
(Inheritance), a compendium of success stories of the implementation of
Kalahi-CIDSS in the region. DSWD Caraga OIC Regional Director Mita Chuchi Lim
was on hand to lead the unveiling together with other management officers and Kalahi-CIDSS
specialists.

The materials showcase the wonderful stories of
communities in Caraga who benefited from the implementation of the program. The
different stakeholders, most especially the community volunteers have paved the
way for progress and development to happen through their perseverance, optimism
and extraordinary efforts in their participation in the program’s
implementation.

The advocacy materials tell the story of the
community volunteers’ journey towards empowerment and their valuable contribution
to realize their community projects through the program. The materials would
not just serve the purpose of informing the people of the impact of the program
but also to encourage more interaction and partnerships with the different
partner stakeholders of the program.

Above all, the program hopes that the advocacy
materials would immortalize the impact of Community-Driven Development (CDD)
especially in the transformation of lives of the communities and the other
stakeholders. (Social Marketing Unit/DSWD Field Office Caraga/PIA-Caraga)